KEY POINTS
- Israeli army loses another commander amid intense combat near Al-Shifa Hospital
- United Nations' human rights chief says Israel's restrictions of aid for Gaza may be a war crime
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to visit Middle East again in ceasefire push efforts
It's Day 165 of the war in Gaza – White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has confirmed that Marwan Issa, the deputy leader of Hamas' military wing (Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades), Mohammed Deif's right-hand man, was killed in an Israeli strike in central Gaza last week.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been targeting high-ranking Hamas officials in recent weeks, with Faiq Mabhouh being the latest target. He was assassinated Monday during a raid at Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza Strip's largest health and medical complex.
- Defeating Hamas will deal 'stinging blow' to Iranian terror axis: Netanyahu to Biden
- Israeli forces attack Hezbollah post near Israel-Lebanon border
- IDF troops, including Brigade whose commander was killed, still operating at Al-Shifa Hospital area
- Assassinated Hamas leader, Issa, was a 'walking nightmare' for Israel: Report
- Houthis claim attack on 'American' ship, breaking 3-day break in Red Sea disruptions
- Rocket sirens sound in northern Israel following IDF attack on Hezbollah post
- 'No way' Hamas battalions can be eradicated without Rafah ground incursion: Netanyahu
David Barnea, the head of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, has departed Doha following talks over a potential ceasefire that has been rather elusive and dashed hopes for some relief during the Ramadan month.
It appears Yemeni Houthi rebels have been silent for the past two days in the Middle Eastern seas. U.S. forces with the Central Command (CENTCOM), on the other hand, continue to destroy assets belonging to the Iranian-backed rebel militia.
Another Iranian-backed terror group, Hezbollah, has also not claimed any attacks against Israeli army bases since the weekend. The militant organization's near-daily rocket launches toward northern Israel has displaced thousands of Israelis.
Back in war-torn Gaza, the Integrated Food-Security Phase Classification (IPC), which monitors global hunger, warned that mass death was inevitable in the enclave due to the raging war.
Fueled by the bitter history of violence in the Israel-Palestine conflict, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to push back against international pressure as the Israeli army prepares to launch a ground raid in Rafah, an overcrowded city believed to be the temporary home of over a million Gaza civilians.
The live update has ended.
'No way' to eliminate Hamas without Rafah ground incursion: Netanyahu
The Israeli prime minister on Tuesday rejected international pressure regarding a military operation in Rafah. He said Israel sees "no way to eliminate Hamas militarily without destroying these remaining battalions" in Rafah.
He said there has been a "debate" with the U.S. regarding a military raid, but Netanyahu said he has "made it as clear as possible" to the U.S. president that Israel was "determined to complete the elimination of these battalions in Rafah, and there is no way to do this without a ground incursion."
Sirens sound in northern Israel
Rocket sirens sounded in northern Israel Tuesday afternoon, local media reported. The alerts came following an Israeli operation targeting a Hezbollah observation post near the Lebanese border.
🚨Rocket sirens blare in northern Israel
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) March 19, 2024
Houthis break Red Sea rampage break, claim attack on 'American' vessel
The Houthis have broken their three-day break in attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea as Yahya Sare'e, the Iranian-backed Yemeni rebel militia said the terror group attacked "the American ship 'Mado' in the Red Sea with a number of suitable naval missiles" Tuesday.
The U.S. has yet to deny or confirm the claim.
Hamas No. 3 was a 'nightmare' for Israelis: Report
Issa, whom the U.S. said was confirmed killed by an Israeli strike in central Gaza last week, was a "walking nightmare" for the Israeli people, a Hamas source told Reuters Tuesday.
Dubbed as the "shadow man" by Palestinians for his reported ability to stay off radar, Issa allegedly planned the Hamas Oct. 7 massacre and is said to have been among two other members of the secretive "military council" of the terror group's leadership that directed paramilitary operations from Gaza tunnels.
Observers noted that Issa's assassination would be a major blow for the Palestinian militant group as it came at a crucial time in the fighting, especially as Israeli troops continue to relentlessly attack.
Marwan Issa was eliminated https://t.co/g1bXSPz3Gs
— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) March 17, 2024
IDF troops still operating at Al-Shifa
Israeli forces, led by the 162nd Division, are still operating "in the area of the Shifa Hospital," the IDF said Tuesday afternoon local time. It said troops were engaging in "face-to-face battles" against Hamas while preventing harm to civilians, patients, medical teams and hospital equipment. Among the units operating in the area is the 401st Brigade.
נמשכת פעילות כוחות צה״ל ושב״כ, כוחות שייטת 13 וצוות הקרב של חטיבה 401 בהובלת אוגדה 162, במרחב בית החולים שיפאא׳.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 19, 2024
הלוחמים מחסלים מחבלים בקרבות פנים מול פנים ומאתרים אמצעי לחימה במרחב תוך מניעת פגיעה באזרחים, חולים, צוותים רפואיים וציוד רפואי>> pic.twitter.com/vAB7T70x8L
The military operation update came several hours after the IDF announced the killing of the 401st Brigade's commander earlier in the day.
Israeli army attacks Hezbollah post
Israeli forces attacked a Hezbollah operative "inside an observation post" in the Marwahin area, near Israel's northern border with Lebanon on Tuesday afternoon local time, the IDF said.
לפני זמן קצר, זיהתה תצפיתנית מיחידה 869 פעיל של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בתוך עמדת תצפית השייכת לארגון במרחב מרווחין. תוך זמן קצר, בשילוב גורמי אש ואוויר, מטוסי קרב תקפו את המבנה בו שהה הפעיל>> pic.twitter.com/MPYUCzmUfB
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 19, 2024
This comes amid seeming silence from the Iranian-backed terror group, which has not claimed any attacks targeting Israeli army bases in the past three days.
Hamas' defeat means 'stinging blow' to Iranian axis of terror: Netanyahu
The Israeli prime minister has revealed details of his phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden Monday, saying he once again reiterated Israel's war goals – the elimination of Hamas being among them.
"If we achieve these [war] goals, then we will also deliver a stinging blow to the Iran terror axis, which is behind everything that we're seeing today," he said in a series of posts on X.
If we achieve these goals, then we will also deliver a stinging blow to the Iran terror axis, which is behind everything that we're seeing here today.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) March 18, 2024
The Netanyahu administration has been under immense pressure from the U.S. and other allies to agree to a ceasefire deal with Hamas and to refrain from launching a military ground operation in Gaza without a clear plan for civilian protection.
Blinken to visit Middle East again in truce, aid talks push
The U.S. Secretary of State will return to the Middle East this week to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and to discuss how humanitarian aid can be delivered faster into the Strip.
He said Monday that the entire Gaza population is "at severe levels of acute food insecurity," citing the IPC's latest assessment of the food insecurity situation in Gaza.
Read the full story here.
Israel's restrictions on Gaza aid may be war crime: UN rights chief
Volker Turk, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, has indicated that restrictions on humanitarian aid deliveries implemented by Israel may be a war crime.
"The extent of Israel's continued restrictions on entry of aid into Gaza, together with the manner in which it continues to conduct hostilities, may amount to the usage of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime," he said.
The Israeli government has repeatedly rejected accusations that it was blocking humanitarian aid for Gaza civilians. It said UN organizations and other relief groups were the ones having distribution and delivery issues, making it hard for the faster entry of aid into the war-torn enclave.
Israeli army brigade commander falls in Al-Shifa battle
Warrant Officer Sebastian Haion, commander of the Israeli army's 401st Brigade, was killed in battle Monday amid intense fighting near the Al-Shifa Hospital, multiple local outlets reported.
The IDF commander's name has been added in the Israeli army's tribute page for fallen soldiers since the war started. The family of the 51-year-old officer has been informed, the IDF said.
שתפו לזכרו של גיבור ישראל 🕯️
— Yael Zien יעל צין (@YaelZien) March 19, 2024
רס״ב (מיל׳) סבסטיאן איון (Sebastian Haion), בן 51, מראש העין, מפקד בחפ״ק מח״ט 401, נפל בקרב בצפון רצועת עזה.
יהי זכרו ברוך pic.twitter.com/yhSVLjk1oo
His death was announced a day after Israeli troops assassinated Mabhouh, a top security official of Hamas who was hiding within Gaza's largest medical complex and refused to surrender.
Mass death imminent in Gaza: Food monitor
The IPC warned Monday that mass death has become imminent in Gaza due to the humanitarian situation and the lack of food and water in the enclave. "The upward trend in non-trauma mortality is also expected to accelerate, resulting in all famine thresholds likely to be passed imminently," the global food monitor said.
"The entire population in the Gaza Strip (2.23 million) is facing high levels of acute food insecurity," it added, noting that half of the population "is expected to face catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5), the most severe level in the IPC Acute Food Insecurity scale."
US destroys Houthi assets in Yemen
The U.S. army said early Tuesday that CENTCOM forces successfully engaged and destroyed seven anti-ship missiles, three drones, and three weapons storage containers "in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in self-defense."
The paramilitary assets were deemed "an imminent threat" to commercial shipping and U.S. Navy battleships in the area, the U.S. military said.
March 18 Red Sea Update
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 19, 2024
On March 18, between 1:00 p.m. and 7:40 p.m. (Sanaa time) United States Central Command (CENTCOM) forces successfully engaged and destroyed seven anti-ship missiles, three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and three weapons storage containers in… pic.twitter.com/9K4d5rVqeP
This comes amid seeming silence from the Houthis. The last time they claimed an attack on a merchant ship was Friday.
Mossad chief returns from Qatar talks: Local broadcaster
Barnea has returned to Israel following talks in Doha for a possible ceasefire in Gaza. He is expected to provide the Israeli war cabinet with updates on negotiations for a truce during a Tuesday night meeting, Israel's national broadcaster Kan reported.
The Mossad chief's visit to Doha comes following some two weeks of stalled truce discussions as Israel and Hamas failed to reach an agreement before the start of the Ramadan month.
A ceasefire deal could help alleviate the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and could also free some 130 hostages still in Hamas captivity.
White House confirms Hamas No. 3 assassinated
Sullivan confirmed late Monday that the deputy leader of Hamas notorious military wing had been killed. "Hamas's No. 3, Marwan Issa, was killed in an Israeli operation last week – the rest of the top leaders are in hiding likely deep in a Hamas tunnel network," but they will be hunted down, "and we will help to ensure that," he revealed.
Tune in for a briefing with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. https://t.co/p1qpSVwjjp
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 18, 2024
The Israeli army said last week that it targeted an underground tunnel in central Gaza, in the Nuseirat camp, where Issa was hiding. Israel said at the time that it was still assessing the results of the targeted strike to determine whether the top Hamas deputy had been killed.
